Nicolas Touzaint a champion in Deauville

To be a real champion is also to be there when your public is waiting for you. It is not an easy thing, especially with eventing. Nicolas Touzaint did it, with the same quietness he has last Sunday to win the European Championship. This is the first beautiful story of the R.I.D.E Normandy. The different concept which rules the R.I.D.E seems to fit to the public. One should have seen these thousands of spectators rushing out of the jumping arena, after the great victory of Olivier Guillon with Ionesco de Brekka in the jump-off of the Prix France Info, to go on the cross country to cheer the eventers and, of course, “their” Nicolas who was 3rd before this last competition. But this crowd was not especially chauvinist, Clayton Fredericks noticed “When I was over the jumps I could hear many people cheering me, this was amazing.” Actually, this public could not really hide his happiness when Karin Donckers and Linda Algotsson, who were ahead Nicolas Touzaint, got some problem on the crosscountry; the Belgian had a fall with Palmyra and the Swedish had a refusal which pushed Touzaint to a second victory in a week!